Nissan e-NV200 WORKSPACe — All-Electric Mobile Office Showcase
One of the great things about vans is that they can be used for many things other than simply moving stuff from one place to another. Some people even choose to live out of them, while traveling or otherwise.
With that in mind, Nissan recently collaborated with the UK-based design firm Studio Hardie to create the all-electric e-NV200 “WORKSPACe” showcase vehicle — an e-NV200 van converted to function as a cost-effective mobile office.
The all-electric showcase van features wireless internet, an integrated fold-out desk, a touchscreen computer, LED lights that can be controlled through a smartphone, a mini fridge, a “barista-quality” coffee machine, wireless smartphone charging, and a Bluetooth audio system, amongst other things.
The showcase is intended to show one of the possibilities with relation to so-called “hot-desking” spaces as their use becomes more common. The number of of co-working and hot-desking spaces worldwide increased by 36% during 2015, reportedly, as more and more businesses considered alternatives to conventional (expensive) city-center offices.
The Director of Electric Vehicles at Nissan Europe, Gareth Dunsmore, commented: “With property prices in our capital cities at such a premium and the modern professional needing to be ever more mobile, businesses will need to think smart and consider what the workplace of the future looks like. With hot-desking and remote working on the rise, it is not too big a leap to see a future where our vehicles will become connected, energy efficient, mobile workspaces and the e-NV200 WORKSPACe project could become more than just a concept.”
The press release provides a bit more: “With electric vehicles costing as little as £0.02 per mile to run, the e-NV200 WORKSPACe offers a cost-effective desk space solution allowing users to work for free in some city-centres that offer free EV charging bays, or escape the city altogether for the countryside or coastal fresh air. The e-NV200 WORKSPACe can be rapid charged from empty to 80% power in just 30 minutes, and for those times when you want to leave the office parked and charging up, there’s an internal mount for a folding Brompton Bike, allowing users to make short trips around the city or complete the ‘last mile’ of any journey.”
Interesting ideas. The Nissan e-NV200 all-electric van can of course be used for any number of other purposes as well. You may recall an earlier concept where the model had been converted into a camper, with a full-size bed in the back. With a single-charge range of only around 100 miles per charge, though, such concepts wouldn’t be practical everywhere as of yet. Nissan will presumably be upgrading the model’s range at some point in the near future, though (possibly up to ~200 miles). Once that happens, such concepts will seem a lot more compelling.
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